The Police

The Police were lumped in with other punk and New Wave groups when their debut album, 'Outlandos D'Amour,' was released in 1978. But their roots were deeper than that, hitting jazz, pop, prog and other styles. It helped that all three members -- singer-bassist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland -- were great musicians, helping them achieve the reggae grooves found on their early albums. After a stretch of terrific records in the late '70s and early '80s, marked by the No. 1 'Synchronicity' (which stayed at the top spot for a whopping 17 weeks), Sting left for a successful solo career. The band briefly reunited in 2007.